


Corroborating Stories

by obs3ss1ons



Category: Station 19 (TV)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Secret Relationship, Secrets Revealed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-23
Updated: 2019-03-23
Packaged: 2019-11-28 21:56:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18214151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/obs3ss1ons/pseuds/obs3ss1ons
Summary: Lucas and Vic tell Sullivan about their date, separately. He puts two and two together.





	Corroborating Stories

Robert and Luke settled at a table with their beer. The bar was crowded with people drinking, laughing, and even some dancing. Robert looked at Luke only to find him staring across the room with a dopey grin. He followed his friend’s line of sight, thinking he was eyeing a woman. Well, he was. Sort of. There was a couple in a booth kissing like people newly in love do.

He faced Luke again. “Who is she?”

Luke's gaze snapped to his. “Who?”

“The woman you’ve fallen in love with.”

“What are you talking about?” Luke asked, sipping his beer.

Robert lifted an eyebrow. “The last time I saw you look like that was right before you married Eva.”

Luke squirmed. “Looked like what?”

“Oh, stop playing dumb, Luke. Just spill it. Who's going to be lucky number three?” Robert prodded.

His friend’s smile grew. He got a faraway look in his eyes. “Okay, so there is someone special. But we’re not to the marriage talk.”

“Yet,” Robert supplied.

Luke tipped his beer at him. “Not going there. You know my track record.”

“Third time’s the charm.”

“Maybe,” Luke agreed. Robert laughed. He sipped his drink and watched the other man. Luke seemed to be lost in thought. But he finally said, “We went out last night, and I found out just how well she can dance. I’m doomed.”

Robert spit out the drink he’d just taken when more laughter burst out. He wiped his mouth and said, “Yeah, if she likes to dance, you’re in trouble. I remember what you used to consider dancing.”

“I just stood there and let her do all the moving. And yes, she made fun of me the whole time,” Luke admitted. He picked up his beer but didn’t drink. Instead, he added, “The slow dancing was nice, though.”

“So do I get to meet her?”

Luke’s gaze snapped up to meet Robert's. His eyes widened. “Umm, I don’t know. It’s – we’re – things are still fairly new.”

Robert studied him. “Yet you’re in love with her.”

Luke sighed. “Yeah, I think so.”

“Well, whoever she is, I’m sure she’s special if she caught your attention,” Robert told him. Luke just grinned and sipped his beer.

**

“So how did your date go?” Montgomery asked Hughes just as Robert walked into the beanery.

“It was amazing,” Hughes answered.

Robert walked up behind them and made his appearance known. Even though he had let himself get close to the team, he still was their boss. Nobody wanted to talk about their love life in front of the boss.

“Uh, hi, Captain,” Hughes greeted, giving Montgomery a side glance.

“I’ll just get a water. Then you can finish telling Montgomery about your date,” Robert told her. She actually blushed. It made him feel like he was intruding, so he quickly grabbed his drink and walked away. They began arguing before he even left the room.

He brushed it off and got busy with work. In fact, he forgot all about it until he found himself riding in the truck with Hughes on the way to their first call. They were barely a block from the station when she said, “I’m sorry about this morning, Captain. The awkward conversation in the beanery with Travis. We weren’t talking about anything inappropriate, really. I mean, it was just a date I went on the other day. With my boyfriend.”

Robert waved a hand toward her. “You don’t need to explain, Hughes. You’re allowed to talk about your personal life with your friends.”

“It’s just that, we don’t go out very often. So it was special. Our six-month anniversary, actually,” Hughes continued as if he hadn’t said a thing.

“Congratulations,” Robert murmured.

“Thanks. I can’t believe we’ve made it this long,” she moves on. “We’re still learning things about each other, of course. Like, I found out the other night that he can’t dance. Six months together, and I’m just now figuring that out. It’s crazy, right? I mean, usually something like that is one of the first things you find out about someone. Isn’t it? Captain? Oh, God. I’m sorry. I’m rambling. You don’t care about this at all.”

Robert had stopped listening after she made the comment about her boyfriend not being able to dance. He had a flashback to a conversation he’d had just the day before. About someone else’s date that involved only one of them dancing. But, it couldn’t be the same date. That would be ridiculous. Luke was the Fire Chief. By the book. He’d never date a subordinate. That would be too risky to the job he loved.

“Sir,” Hughes said, snapping him out of his thoughts. He looked toward her, trying really hard not to give away his thoughts. Hughes pointed out his window. “We’re on scene.”

“Right. Let’s go.”

“Are you okay?”

Robert forced a small smile in her direction. “All good. Your description of your date just brought up a memory. Come on, let’s go deal with this fire.”

He opened his door and climbed out, shifting into command mode. They had a fire that needed to be taken care of, possible victims to save. He could think about the secret he might have just stumbled across later. When he was alone and could process the idea of his friend and boss dating one of his firefighters.

**

“Sully, what’s going on?” Luke asked as soon as he showed up to the restaurant. Robert had sent him a message wanting to meet for breakfast right after shift ended. He hadn’t said why, though. He didn’t want Luke to not show up. They really needed to talk.

Robert waited until Luke was seated and they’d ordered their food to start the conversation he really did not want to have. He linked his hands together and placed them on the table, watching Luke stir sugar into his coffee and take a sip. Then he decided to mess with his friend a bit. “I hear congratulations are in order.”

Luke set his coffee down. “For what?”

“Six months is a long time, especially for you,” Robert replied.

“Six months of what?”

Robert dropped the smile from his lips, stared straight at Luke, and said, “For you to have a secret relationship with someone from my station.”

Luke’s face paled. He clenched his fingers around his mug so tight Robert worried it might break. After a long, tense silence, Luke asked, “How did you find out?”

“From you. And Hughes,” Robert answered. He earned a confused look, so he added, “You told me about finding out your girlfriend loves to dance while on a date the other night. She just happened to tell me about finding out her boyfriend can’t dance on their six month anniversary.”

“Oh, man,” Luke said, running his fingers through his hair. Their food arrived, but neither moved to eat.

As soon as the waitress walked away, Robert said, “How could you do this, Luke? And for six months!”

“It just happened,” Luke began. “We had a moment after a support group meeting, and then we kept finding ourselves in the same place at the same time. One thing led to another, and suddenly it’s six months later.”

“Does anyone else know?”

Luke shook his head. “Only Jennifer.”

“So no one in the department. No one at the station.”

“Not that I know of,” Luke replied.

Robert leaned forward. “Hughes hasn’t told anyone? Not even Montgomery?”

“She’s smart. She knows what will happen if this gets out,” Luke assured him. “Then again, I didn’t think Vic would tell you about a date.”

“Actually, she told Montgomery about it, and I overheard. Then she gave me the details later,” Robert corrected.

Luke looked concerned. “She told me she told her best friend.”

Robert chuckled. “Some boyfriend you are. Montgomery is her best friend. How could you not know that?”

“We, umm, don’t do a lot of talking,” Luke admitted with a blush.

“I don’t want to know,” Robert said, holding up a hand.

They fell silent, both finally picking at their breakfast. After several minutes passed, Luke asked, “What now?”

Robert hesitated. He sighed and told his friend, “I heard you talk about her. And I heard her talk about you. Plus you’ve been with her for six months without rushing her to the altar.”

“I learned my lesson on that.”

“Still, given your track record and how much you two obviously feel for each other, I can’t make myself be the one to ruin it on you,” Robert stated.

“So you’re not-"

“I won’t turn you in to HR,” Robert assured him. “Just promise me that you’ll keep it out of my station.”

The grin on Luke’s face worried Robert. Luke said, “I can’t make any promises. We do try, though.”

“Wait a second,” Robert said as a thought occurred. “Is that why you’ve spent so much time at Nineteen?”

Luke laughed. “Only partly.”

Robert shook his head. “And here I thought it’s just because Nineteen is your favorite.”

“It is,” Luke replied with a sparkle in his eye. Robert just shoved a bite of his eggs into his mouth. No way could he damage the relationship by turning them in to the department. His best friend was completely and totally in love.


End file.
